Appeal denied in Battle Creek dog torturing case

A Battle Creek man imprisoned after his conviction for torturing a dog has lost his appeal.

David Hursley, 56, is serving a sentence of three years and 10 months to 15 years in prison after his conviction in 2016 by a Calhoun County Circuit Court jury.

The Michigan Court of Appeals in a unanimous decision upheld the conviction and sentence.

In an opinion issued last week the three-member panel rejected Hursley's appeal to his convictions of killing or torturing an animal and animal cruelty. He was sentenced as a fourth-offense habitual offender.

Hursley was arrested by Battle Creek police after officers said he beat a dog with a bat and shot it with a pellet gun on Feb. 9, 2016 at a residence on Bennett Street.

According to testimony at the trial before Circuit Judge Sarah Lincoln, witnesses said Hursley punched the dog because it was begging for food and then said he was going to kill it. The dog was hit several times with a baseball bat and shot at least once with a pellet gun.

Police were called to the house for a report of shots fired and saw him dragging the dog to the back porch.

Officers found the dog still alive but suffering and shot it.

The appeals court judges said Hursley was convicted under the statute which reads "a person shall not . . . without just cause . . . knowingly kill, torture, mutilate, maim or disfigure an animal."

The court cited testimony that the dog was bleeding, unable to get up, was having seizures, spinning on its side and howling.

"Given the extensive testimony that the dog was suffering, a rational juror could find the element of torture beyond a reasonable doubt," the judges wrote.

Hurlsey testified, and his attorney J. Thomas Schaeffer argued, that Hursley was protecting another man, David Hill, who was bitten by the dog.

As the last witness at the trial. Hursley told the jury that the Huskey-mix named Obi kept going at Hill.

"I grabbed the bat and kept hitting that dog until he stopped. I knew I hurt him bad and I went to get the pellet gun and attempted to put him down."

But Dana Porter, assistant Calhoun County prosecutor, argued at the trial that Hursley used excessive force and called a witness who said the dog was not aggressive until Hill grabbed its back legs.

The Appeals Court found for the prosecution.

"While it is true that both defendant and Hill testified that the dog bit Hill's hand before the attack began, their testimonies often conflicted with other evidence presented," the judges concluded.

They dismissed the argument that Hursley was entitled to kill the dog because it was attacking.

"We cannot conclude that defendant was entitled to kill a dog that bit a person only after it was attacked because that would subvert the purpose of the animal cruelty statutes which is to ensure that animals are treated humanely," the court wrote.

Hursley is housed at the Newberry Correctional Facility in the Upper Peninsula. He is eligible for parole on July 12, 2020.

Contact Trace Christenson at 269-966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson